The present invention relates to fuel selector valves for fuel storage tanks, and more particularly to fuel selector valves having a main and reserve position.
Operators of motorcycles, snowmobiles, other motorized equipment and vehicles having the need for flexibility in the operation of the fuel delivery system installed in those vehicles. One important such need is to provide the means for maintaining a reserve supply of fuel. The use of separate primary and reserve fuel reservoirs for motor vehicles has long been abandoned in favor of the selective placement of main and reserve fuel pickup points in the same tank. It has long been known to incorporate selectable reserve valves in a fuel storage tanks to provide access to a reserve supply of fuel. Utilizing this technique, a single fuel tank provides both main and reserve supplies of fuel for the motor, simply by virtue of the placement of multiple fuel feed points at different fuel level locations in that tank.
Typical of such fuel valves is my ball fuel valve with reserve position shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,115,837, entitled xe2x80x9cBall Fuel Valve With Reserve Position.xe2x80x9d A rotatable ball-type valve is retained within a valve body. By positioning the ball within the valve body, fuel may be drawn from one of two locations in the same tank by selecting between one of two feed points in the ball valve housing.
While this device has proven acceptable, there are numerous problems associated with it and with other similar valves. In particular, the casting and machining of the dual feed point valve body elements is expensive, and the utilization of two separate pickup points necessitates the use of separate filtering elements. Also, the passageways within said valves can be unduly complex, and accordingly expensive to manufacture.
It is preferable to locate the pickup points in such valves coaxially, as taught by Pingel in U.S. Pat. No. 4,250,921 and Hoeptner, U.S. Pat. No. 4,890,644. The foregoing valves, however, are restricted in the amount of fuel which can be passed through the reserve inlet, and because they arc not ball valves, are prone to poor sealing, allowing both fuel and air to bypass the desired fuel pathways.
The present invention overcomes the problems associated with the prior art by providing an inexpensive, relatively maintenance-free ball valve which has the capability of providing a positive selection of main fuel flow, reserve fuel flow and flow shutoff positions.
The present invention provides an improved fuel valve adapted for use in the fuel system of a motorized device of the type utilizing liquid fuels. The improved fuel valve generally includes a valve body, main and reserve inlet passageways coaxially located and attached to the valve body, a ball valve assembly disposed within the valve body, and a plurality of o-lings to seal the ball valve assembly within the valve body.
The valve body defines an internal valve chamber and a threaded external element adapted to be inserted into a corresponding and mating threaded element on the fuel tank of a motor-powered device.
The valve further includes main and reserve inlets and an outlet, all adapted to communicate with the internal valve chamber. The main fuel inlet and the reserve fuel inlet both communicate with the internal valve chamber in a coaxial configuration. The fuel outlet communicates with the chamber and opens outwardly at a location apart from the fuel inlets. A ball valve assembly is disposed within the internal valve chamber, and is provided with an inlet and outlet which may be selectively positioned to communicate with the fuel tank and the fuel outlet to the motor.